Mike Fieldhouse, from Westcliff, stood in last year’s Southend Council elections in the Prittlewell ward, losing out to Conservative candidate David Garston by just 78 votes.

But this time around Mr Fieldhouse, a member of hard left faction Momentum, has been told his profession as a glamour photographer could be used as a “political weapon” by opponents.

Oh, the irony!

A selection panel labelled his job an “embarrassment” to the party and criticised the dad-of-two for considering it a “trivial matter”.

How's it feel to be on the wrong side of the Star Chamber for a change, chum? And you spent so long polishing your SJW credentials, too!

But Mr Fieldhouse told the Echo he has worked for national newspapers, including the Daily Star, for more than 25 years and his work is “no secret”.
He said: “It was disappointing and surprising. Just last month the party put out a press release saying I was a ‘valuable member of the local party’.

“So it’s come as an absolute shock that in just over a month I’ve become someone who they don’t think is suitable to stand.”

Mr Fieldhouse volunteers at Southend’s Night Shelter Project and is a qualified counsellor who works with a charity providing support to victims of rape and child sex abuse.